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An Economy man convicted of drug dealing has been sentenced in federal court to 24 years in prison for the unlawful distribution of prescription drugs, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Pittsburgh.

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U.S. District Court Judge Arthur Schwab imposed the sentence Monday on David Best, 28, of Howard Road.

On April 10, a federal jury convicted Best on 11 counts related to unlawful distribution of prescription drugs following a 10-day trial in which Best was charged with conspiracy to distribute oxycodone and Opana, as well as multiple counts related to large-scale drug trafficking.

Specifically, according to Assistant United States Attorney Eric S. Rosen, who prosecuted the case, the evidence presented at trial established that Best conspired together with others, from July 2011 to around May 2013, to distribute and possess with intent to distribute large quantities of oxycodone and Opana, both schedule II controlled substances.

Further, on three separate occasions, Dec. 1, 2011, Sept. 26 to Sept. 27, 2012, and Feb. 15, 2013, Best burglarized the MedFast pharmacy in Baden and stole a number of drugs, including: fentanyl, oxymorphone, including in the form known as Opana, Ritalin, oxycodone, including in the form known as Oxycontin, methylphenidate, Vyvanse, morphine sulfate, Roxicet, Focalin, methylphenidate, hydromorphone, methadone, and meperidine.

On two occasions, authorities said Best chiseled through the wall of the neighboring China Garden restaurant into the pharmacy, and on the third occasion, Best broke into the Bo-Rics hair salon, and from there, burrowed directly into the MedFast controlled substances cabinet.

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Best stole the drugs to distribute them, according to a news release. Evidence presented at trial demonstrated that Best, on June 20, 2012, carried and brandished a loaded revolver during his drug trafficking conspiracy.

In that regard, Best held two men hostage at gunpoint after he lured them to his Economy home under the guise that he had a large stash of drugs and money in his room. Best suspected that these two men were conspiring to steal his drug proceeds, so he preemptively attacked and held them hostage at gunpoint.

Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Schwab highlighted the seriousness of Best’s many crimes and the damage that his drug dealing did to those in Western Pennsylvania.